ST. PETERSBURG – The Henry Luce Foundation recently awarded Eckerd College $400,000 to implement an interdisciplinary program that will create new curriculum on Asia and the environment and send 130 students to study in Asia.

The competitive grant, provided through the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment, will bring together Eckerd’s Environmental Studies and East Asian Studies programs under a collaborative umbrella called the Asia and the Environment Initiative.

It is the second grant the Foundation has provided for the initiative, building on $25,000 in exploratory funding.

The program will train a half-dozen members of the Eckerd Environmental Studies and Natural Sciences faculty and nearly the entire East Asian Studies faculty to work on environmental issues in Asia, including cross-training in Asian languages and in scientific and environmental research techniques and fieldwork.

Besides the 130 students who will study in Asia, 280 students will gain additional exposure to Asian environmental issues through campus coursework.